The EEG Features of Four Cases of Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis in North China : SSPE EEG Features.

Objective. To analyze the EEG features of four subacute sclerosing panencephalitis cases in North China. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed the EEG features in four patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis and 12 patients in control group from North China. Results. The periodic long-interval diffuse discharges were found in all of the four cases with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. The morphology and component of periodic complexes were varied in different patients and different wakefulness states. Some EEG parameter settings help to identify periodic long-interval diffuse discharges including the slowed sweep speed, decreased sensitivity and reduced number of montages. In each patient with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, the periodic long-interval diffuse discharges associated with two types of brief episodes (1:1) during awake period were found and none of the patients in the control group had this EEG pattern. The score system based on the periodic discharges and brief episodes also shows that all the patients with SSPE reached score 5 while none of the patients in the control group has a score greater than 3, which suggests that this EEG pattern may have diagnostic value. Conclusions. In subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, the morphology and component of periodic long-interval diffuse discharges were varied in different patients and different wakefulness states. Specific EEG parameter settings help to identify periodic long-interval diffuse discharges. Periodic long-interval diffuse discharges associated with two types of brief episodes (1:1) during awake period may strongly suggest the diagnosis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.

CISD2 promotes the proliferation of glioma cells via suppressing beclin­1­mediated autophagy and is targeted by microRNA­449a.

CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 (CISD2) has been found to be important in carcinogenesis. However, the role of CISD2 in glioma remains to be elucidated. The present study aimed to investigate the role of CISD2 in glioma using the reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, co­immunoprecipitation assay, immunofluorescence staining and other methods. The results demonstrated that the mRNA and protein levels of CISD2 were found to be upregulated in glioma tissues, compared with the levels in matched normal tissues. Clinical data analysis showed that the level of CISD2 was negatively correlated with the survival rates of patients with glioma. In addition, high levels of CISD2 were associated with advanced clinical stage, relapse, vascular invasion and increased tumor size. The inhibition of CISD2 suppressed the proliferation and survival of glioma cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, it was found that small interfering RNA­induced knock down of CISD2 inhibited the proliferation of glioma cells through activating beclin­1­mediated autophagy. The results also revealed that CISD2 was a target of microRNA (miR)­449a. Together, the results of the present study demonstrated that CISD2 was increased in glioma samples and was associated with poor prognosis and aggressive tumor behavior. The miR­449a/CISD2/beclin­1­mediated autophagy regulatory network contributed to the proliferation of glioma cells. Targeting this pathway may be a promising strategy for glioma therapy.

Activation of the PI3K-Akt pathway promotes neuroprotection of the δ-opioid receptor agonist against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat models.

The central objective was to identify the role of the PI3K-Akt activation pathway on the neuroprotection of δ-opioid receptor agonist (DADLE) against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in a rat model. Fifty-five male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were included to establish a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model which were then divided into the sham, MCAO, LY294002 (MCAO+DADLE+LY294002 [inhibitor of PI3K-Akt pathway]), DADLE (MCAO+DADLE) and DMSO (MCAO+DADLE+DMSO [dimethyl sulphoxide]) groups. The cerebral infarction (CI) volume and nerve cell apoptosis was determined using TTC and TUNEL staining. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blotting and immunohistochemistry staining were applied for the expressions of Bad, Bax, Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase-3. The MCAO group showed higher CI volume, nerve cell apoptosis and cleaved caspase-3 expressions than the DADLE and DMSO groups, which were also higher in the LY294002 group than the DADLE group. Compared with the MCAO group, the mRNA and protein expressions of PI3K and Bcl-2, and the protein expressions of p-Akt and p-Bad were elevated, while the mRNA and protein expressions of Bax were decreased in the DADLE and DMSO groups. Decreased mRNA and protein expressions of PI3K and Bcl-2, reduced protein expressions of p-Akt and p-Bad and elevated mRNA and protein expressions of Bax exhibited in the LY294002 group than the DADLE group. These results indicate that activation of PI3K-Akt pathway promotes the neuroprotection of DADLE against cerebral I/R injury in a rat model by decreasing nerve cells apoptosis.